BARAS, PALO, Leyte—The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Regional Office 8 has already commenced civil works for the phase 1 of the Mother and Child Building and the Out-Patient Building of the Samar Island Medical Center (SIMC) in Calbayog City.

DPWH RO8 has been set to implement the first phase of this project which is for the construction of two four-story buildings with a roof deck, namely the Mother and Child Building and the Out-Patient Department (OPD) Building.

The main building which will house an emergency department, a laboratory department, as well as other significant facilities and departments will then be implemented by the Department of Health Eastern Visayas Center for Health Development (EVCHD)—the lead agency of this project.

Funded under FY 2023, the said SIMC-Phase 1 has a project cost of P477.682 million which involves construction or excavation of the foundation works and structural framing of the Mother and Child and OPD Buildings; while P100 million has also been allocated for the site development of the project which is intended for the construction of road network in the entire project vicinity, including concrete-lined canal and slope protection.

Started last December 4, 2023, DPWH RO8, along with the project contractor, currently works on the site clearing operations, staking for project site boundaries as well as mobilization of tools and equipment.

DPWH 8 Regional Director Edgar B. Tabacon expressed his commitment to implement these buildings and be part of the success story of this project.

“To date, Region 8 has only one tertiary hospital which is Eastern Visayas Medical Center located in Tacloban City. It is time for us, national government agencies, to work together for the benefit of the entire Samar island,” said RD Tabacon.

For FY 2024, DPWH RO8 has received a P400 million allocation for the completion works for the Mother and Child Building, and for the continuation of the OPD Building.

With the completion of this project, over two million Samarnons will benefit from easier access to healthcare facilities, emergency and critical care services as well as all urgent medical needs.

Patients with serious illnesses from Samar will no longer need to travel for hours to receive advanced medical diagnostics and other tertiary health services such as treatments via state-of-the-art equipment and facilities.

The SIMC is envisioned to be a 300-bed capacity tertiary hospital that will soon cater to patients from the provinces of Samar, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar.

Soon to rise on a 3.3-hectare lot owned by the Calbayog City government, the said premier Medical Center will be run and supervised by the Department of Health. (PR)

BORONGAN CITY– Over 100 residents from a far-flung barangay in Borongan availed of free birth registration as the City Civil Registration Office (CCRO) extended its services in Barangay Pinanag-an in observance of National Civil Registration Month.

Erlinda Delmonte, who had just registered 57 years after her birth, noted that she would never have her birth registered if the city government did not visit their barrio.

“Wara ak pakaiskuyla tungod nga pobre it ak mga kag-anak ngan bisan iton nga pagparehistro in yana gudla, dako it ak pagpapasalamat nga kinanhi kami, kay siguro kun waray kinanhi, ngada ka hasta di ak kakarehistro,” Delmonte said.

(We are so poor that my parents could not even afford to send me to school; I even had my birth registered just today. I’m very thankful [to the city government] for coming here; maybe I might not have been able to register my birth if not for them.)

According to City Civil Registrar Ma. Luisa M. Azul III, the outreach program aims to bring government services closer to the people by providing the residents of several disadvantaged areas in the city with the opportunity to avail of the free registration.

“Kinanhi kami ha Brgy. Pinanag-an para buligan adton mga tawo nga diri pa rehistrado, kay makuri man ha ira it pagkadto ha Borongan City Hall dara hit gastos hiton ira pasahe.mbes nga ipasahe nira, ira nala ipinapalit hin pagkaon,” Azul added.

(Since it is difficult for the locals to personally register at the Borongan City Hall due to travel expenses, we are here in Pinanag-an to provide our services for free, so they could purchase food with the money instead rather than use it for fares.)

Azul also shared that they are conducting an outreach program for the barangays with low birth registration records. Barangay Pinanag-an recorded the lowest based on the data of CCRO.

Barangay Pinanag-an can be reached via a 1 hour and 30 minutes boat ride, in addition to the 1 hour ride from the capital of Borongan. It was also considered one of the hotspots of insurgency before because, in 2019, six soldiers died in an encounter with the New People’s Army in the area.

“Masunod an iba pa nga mga barangay sugad han Benowangan ngan San Mateo. [Asya] kun ano man nga barangay an nagkikinahanglan han amon services, magpahibaro la didi ha opisina, amon tatalinguhaon nga mapasyada,” siring ni Azul.

(Barangays Benowangan and San Mateo will follow. Just alert our office if there are barangays that need our services; we will do our best to visit your area.)
Consequently, the CCRO will just notify the barangay officials should the birth certificates and the security papers from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) of those who registered are ready to be claimed.

Aside from birth registration, the CCRO also answered inquiries from individuals about civil documents, particularly on correcting typographical errors and changing status. Some also registered for the free mass civil wedding this June.
(LDL/VTG/with reports from BCIO)

The Philippine National Police arrests a suspect behind an online work scam following a successful collaboration with the country’s leading finance app GCash. The scam involves luring a victim to accept online tasks requiring investing money to earn a commission.

The suspect was identified as 21-year-old female Danica Dela Cruz Valdez, a resident of Balayong, Malolos City, Bulacan. Valdez had initially paid the victim for the first milestone to gain trust. With the succeeding tasks, Valdez then required the victim to complete the entire project first before the commission could be given, for which the suspect required more investment money. The victim agreed and sent payment to the suspect’s bank accounts. Later, Valdez introduced additional problems involving a crypto account that coerced her victim to send an additional payment, banking on the victim’s desire to get paid once and for all. In the end, the scammer collected P314,080 from the unsuspecting victim.

As part of its ongoing initiative to educate the public on how they protect themselves from scams and other financial cybercrimes, GCash continues to remind its users to practice extra vigilance and awareness of the various modes of scams.

“Having millions of users and with the end goal of financial inclusion, online safety tops the priorities of GCash. We remain steadfast in our dedication to ensuring the security and protection of our users. We shall remain faithful to our collaborative efforts with the Philippine National Police in swiftly addressing any scams, fraud, and cybercrime,” said GCash mobile wallet operator G-Xchange, Inc. head of legal Atty. Gilbert Escoto.

While intensifying its cooperation with law enforcement authorities, GCash also urges users to be extra vigilant of online scammers and fraudsters. When making transactions on the app, users are reminded never to disclose their MPIN or One-time PIN (OTP). With the rise in phishing incidents, users are strongly advised to never click links, especially from unknown senders.

For help and assistance, contact the PNP-ACG via their hotlines at (02) 8414-1560, 0998-598-8116, or email at acg@pnp.gov.ph

To report scams and fraudulent activities, visit the official GCash Help Center in the app or at help.gcash.com, message Gigi, and type, “I want to report a scam.” GCash will never send private messages to ask for personal information, especially the MPIN and OTP.

Customers can also contact the official GCash hotline at 2882 for queries and other concerns.(PR)

CAMP VICENTE LUKBAN, Catbalogan City– The Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) of Eastern Visayas convened for its quarterly meeting on March 13, 2024, in Tacloban City. Highlighted in the meeting are the notable achievements on counter insurgency and the maintenance of peace and order in the region.

The meeting was presided by RPOC Chairperson and Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez, alongside council members and officials from the 8th Infantry Division (8ID) of the Philippine Army, Police Regional Office (PRO) 8, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and other member agencies.

Lieutenant Colonel Manuel B. Degay Jr., the Operations Officer of the Joint Task Force (JTF) Storm, provided an update on the council’s Internal Security Operations in Eastern Visayas.
One of the significant updates highlighted was the joint efforts of RPOC-8 and the Regional Task Force 8 in Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC), resulting in the degradation of the capabilities of four Sub-Regional Committees (SRC) and one Island Committee of the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee (EVRPC) during the first quarter of the year the confirmation from the National Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Center (NJPSCC) regarding the dismantling of P2, IC Levox, and Elcon Platoon, SRC Browser.

Furthermore, significant achievements included the neutralization of the Secretary of SRC Sesame during an encounter in Borongan City, Eastern Samar on January 6, 2024, the capture of nine high-powered firearms and other Communist NPA Terrorist (CNT) items in Calbayog City, Samar on February 4, 2024, and the neutralization of two NPAs including one high-value individual during an encounter in Albuera, Leyte on February 10, 2024.
Major General Camilo Ligayo, Commander of 8ID, emphasized that these accomplishments were the result of the collaboration efforts of RPOC-8 member agencies, which significantly contributed to the ongoing fight against EVRPC.

“This year, we aim to completely eradicate and achieve total victory against the EVRPC. This goal will be realized through significant advancements in our anti-insurgency efforts, highlighting the undeniable strength derived from our collective endeavors. United as a cohesive force, we pave the way for lasting peace and progress across Eastern Visayas,” Maj. Gen. Ligayo emphasized. (PR)